It’s no secret that base metals have done well in the month of November. Copper is up 20% month-to-date, its best monthly showing in a decade, according to Bloomberg. Everything from lead to zinc to nickel is up double-digit percentages also.
The PowerShares DB Base Metals Fund (DBB)―which holds futures on copper, aluminum and zinc―now has a gain of more than 33% for the year. These monster moves come despite a surge in the U.S. dollar during November, a factor that normally weighs on commodity prices………………………………………..Full Article: Source

So far, the year 2016 has been moderate for agricultural commodities with some specific grains like sugar, soybean and coffee seeing a spike in prices while most other still reeling under pressure as evident by the 1.5% year-to-date decline (as of November 25, 2016) in the broader soft commodity ETF PowerShares DB Agriculture ETF DBA.
Even a subdued greenback could not turn the tide for all soft commodity exchange-traded products. While the likelihood of a stronger U.S. dollar in the wake of a Fed rate hike bet can spoil the party for agricultural commodities going forward, cheaper valuation and some grain-specific factors may provide support to a few agricultural ETF/ETN investing………………………………………..Full Article: Source

The steady stream of new assets to ETFs continued unabated during the holiday-shortened week, with a net of $8.1 billion of inflows after two-consecutive weeks that saw more $20 billion each.
While the first half of the year saw what could be described as a steady drip of new assets at best, the second half of the year has seen a gusher of ETF inflows. As of last Thursday, more than $217 billion in new assets has flowed into U.S.-listed ETFs, bring the industry’s total assets under management to $2.33 trillion………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Oil prices have been volatile lately flipping between hope and despair regarding a likely output curb/freeze deal at the formal OPEC meeting in Vienna on November 30. Though Iraq and Iran were reluctant to cut oil output initially, Iraq finally gave its approval.
Investors should note that this is the third time this year that the investing world is looking forward to this deal as oil price has been reeling under acute pressure for long. In the past, such attempts were made in Doha in April and in Algeria in September……………………………………….Full Article: Source

According to the data compiled by Bloomberg, assets in bullion-backed ETFs have contracted 85.5 metric tons in November, retreating to 1,902 tons, the lowest level since June. After shrinking for the past ten sessions, the holdings are on course for the biggest monthly drop in tonnage terms since June 2013, Bloomberg reports.
Meanwhile, Comex gold futures attempt a minor-recovery from nine-month lows and now trade around $ 1187.50 levels, almost unchanged on the day………………………………….Full Article: Source

Commodity ETFs have enjoyed greater investment interest this year as a recovery in oil prices and resurgence in safe-haven gold bets helped attract steady inflows. However, that scenario could be challenged if the recent rally in the U.S. dollar continues.
Still, investors should main some exposure to alternative asset classes, such as commodities. A diversified approach is suitable for some that do not want to attempt to time upside in popular commodities such as gold, oil and silver…………………………………Full Article: Source

Gold bullion fell through its $1200 floor of the last 9 months Wednesday lunchtime in London, losing 2.4% before steadying just above $1180 per ounce – the bottom of its 2013 price crash – as the biggest jump in 2 years in reported US orders for durable goods saw the Dollar hit fresh 13-year highs on the currency market.
European stock markets cut their earlier losses as US equities held just shy of new record highs. Commodities also regained a drop – with crude oil reversing a 1% fall – after the Census Bureau said orders for ‘white goods’ such as freezers and washing machines jumped 4.8% last month from September, the fastest rise since summer 2014………………………………..Full Article: Source

Precious metals have had an amazing journey this year on a flight to safety amid global growth concerns as the Brexit vote and the U.S. presidential elections led to volatility. Now that market conditions are witnessing a reversal, palladium has clearly emerging as a winner in the precious metals space, thanks to its industrial uses.
This makes it a favorite with investors looking to play the rising economy. In fact, last month, the only pure-play on the metal – ETF Securities Physical Palladium Shares PALL – clearly outperformed the rest of the precious metal ETFs in the space, namely, gold ETF SPDR Gold Trust GLD, platinum ETF ETFS Physical Platinum Shares PPLT and silver ETF ETFS Silver Trust SIVR………………………………………Full Article: Source

Commodities are known as the raw materials for production processes. Investing in them provides investors with exposure to unique factors that historically have brought diversification and inflation hedging benefits to traditional portfolios.
Nowadays, ETFs have expanded the availability of commodity investments providing exposure to single commodities and commodity-linked indexes. At the same time, ETFs have exposed investors to a new set of risk factors that may be unfamiliar to the average investor………………………………………Full Article: Source

Plenty of sector and industry ETFs are reacting positively to Donald Trump’s surprise victory in the U.S. presidential election earlier this month. The VanEck Vectors Steel ETF is one of those ETFs and there is a credible chance SLX can keep building on its recent gains that have seen the steel fund gain more than 13% this month.
Steel has been strengthening this year on policy changes. Since the start of March, U.S. steel has gained ground after Congress passed a new customs and trade enforcement bill allowing the Obama administration to take action against Chinese dumping. The Department of Commerce imposed a 265.79% tariff on Chinese steel…………………………………….Full Article: Source

An exchange-traded fund that tracks the British pound has emerged as a popular trade, with volume and inflows skyrocketing as investors play one of the most volatile segments of the global financial market.
Trading on the CurrencyShares British Pound Sterling Trust ETF has soared since Britain unexpectedly voted to leave the European Union in late June, an event that hammered the country’s currency, taking it to multidecade lows. Over the month of October, nearly 3.8 million shares of the ETF changed hands, according to FactSet data…………………………………….Full Article: Source

Industrial metals like copper, nickel, iron and steel have all rebounded in recent months as traders bet on improving global economic conditions would bolster demand for the base metals after prices hit multi-year lows.
Just look at the iPath Bloomberg Copper Subindex Total Return ETN. The benchmark copper exchange traded product has surged 20% this month, but that rally is not without its detractors. In fact, many commodities market observers feel that the red metal’s recent run higher is not sustainable…………………………………….Full Article: Source

As is probably no surprise to readers of this website, the push toward using ETFs over mutual funds in a portfolio is ever-growing. Asset flow data exhibits a rather large swing in assets away from mutual funds toward ETFs.
And with added pressures from fee compression and the Department of Labor, along with continued innovation in the ETF market, this trend does not appear to be slowing. However, there are some asset classes that are not currently well-represented in ETF-land; namely, alternatives. When I speak of “alternatives” here, I am not referring to products like alternatively weighted equity ETFs……………………………………Full Article: Source

Global ETF assets topped $3 trillion in 2016, as the combination of transparency, tax efficiency and cost savings continue to attract investors to the market. ETFs under management have doubled since 2010 and are forecast to double again by 2021.
To capitalize on this rapidly expanding market, it is crucial to understand how it operates and what makes ETF investing unique from other asset classes. As ETFs continue to proliferate and increase in complexity, advisors and investors need to take the necessary steps to educate themselves on the nuances this market offers……………………………………..Full Article: Source

Exchange-traded funds (ETFs) have solidified their position as one of the successful financial innovations of recent years, having become a strong alternative to mutual funds and other financial products. Since its inception in 1993, the ETF market has grown significantly, reaching USD 3.2 trillion in assets worldwide in August 2016.
The European ETF industry represents USD 533 billion2 in assets and has tripled over the last 10 years. Based on client demand for low-cost products, the ETF market will continue to grow rapidly, perhaps doubling in size within the next eight years………………………………………..Full Article: Source

An analysis of commodity markets from Bloomberg Intelligence today pointed to oil likely being in the $40-$60 per barrel range for the foreseeable future, but that hasn’t stopped ETFs from pumping more money into energy in November. Commodity market strategist Mike McGlone said it would take “a substantial development to get above $60 … or below $30, even as the market remains oversupplied.”
Even as WTI, Brent and natural gas trade within a range well below where they stood two years ago, ETF funds are beginning to put their money back into energy, McGlone pointed out. In the first half of November alone, ETF funds have put $1.9 billion into energy………………………………………..Full Article: Source

George Soros’s hedge fund Soros Fund Management sold its stake in a widely used gold exchange-traded fund in the third quarter, according to a regulatory filing out Monday.
The fund reported no stake in the SPDR Gold Trust in the period ended Sept. 30. That’s after disclosing a position worth $30.4 million in a second-quarter filing. The storied billionaire investor had attracted attention during the second quarter for being generally bearish on world markets — and scooping up safety-play gold………………………………….Full Article: Source

Holdings of gold by global exchange-traded funds have now fallen by roughly 16 tonnes for two days in a row, points out Commerzbank, citing data tracked by Bloomberg. “As such, holdings in the gold ETFs have now been reduced both since the start of the month and since the start of the quarter,” Commerzbank says.
Holdings in SPDR Gold Shares, the world’s largest gold ETF, stood at 934.56 tonnes as of the close of Friday compared to 955.03 two days earlier. Gold ETFs trade like a stock but track the price of the commodity, with metal put into storage to back shares………………………………….Full Article: Source

The United States Oil Fund, which tracks West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures, is off nearly 15% over the past month, putting the widely followed oil exchange traded product dangerously close to another bear market.
However, some oil market observers believe the commodity has near-term rally potential falling its recent precipitous decline. Looking ahead, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries will consider agreeing on output cuts for most members when the group’s energy ministers meet on November 30……………………………………..Full Article: Source

As investors pivoted quickly after Donald Trump’s election victory, their go-to was exchange-traded funds. New York-based brokerage firm Convergex saw clients trading almost three times more ETFs on Wednesday, the day after the election, than they did on Tuesday while overall share trading rose 50%, according to Chief Executive Eric Noll.
“In times of market stress, traders and institutions have to adjust their portfolios quickly. The easiest way for people to refocus their portfolios without picking individual stocks is ETFs,” said Noll. ……………………………………Full Article: Source

With 2016 drawing to a close, global investors’ community is now eyeing the commodity sector. After a gap of five straight years, the commodity sector is ushering the hope that it will likely to scale higher for the first time this year.
Although the benchmark Bloomberg Commodity Index (BCOM) was down 0.5% in October, it rallied 9% year-over-year in the first nine months of 2016. In contrast, in the last five years, the commodity sector witnessed investment withdrawals averaged almost $14 billion in the last quarter resulting in an average 8% drop in BCOM…………………………………..Full Article: Source

By all accounts, it’s been a good year for energy. After 1 1/2 years of steep declines, oil and natural gas prices made a surprising comeback in 2016, ending one of the most devastating downturns ever for energy commodities.
On a year-to-date basis, front-month WTI crude oil futures contracts gained more than 21% to last trade at $45/barrel, while front-month Henry Hub natural gas contracts rose by nearly 14% to last trade at $2.61/mmbtu…………………………………..Full Article: Source

The largest US-listed exchange-traded fund tracking Mexican stocks, dubbed the ‘Trump ETF’ by many analysts during the presidential election campaign, has fallen 11.6% on the back of the US election result.
After the market opened the New York-listed iShares MSCI Mexico Capped ETF was down 10.19%, hitting $47.41 at 9.32am, down from $52.79 when the market closed Tuesday night. On Tuesday, the ETF posted its highest gain in five years as markets believed Hillary Clinton had stronger prospects for victory………………………………………Full Article: Source

Despite all the commotion about this being a good year for commodities, the iShares S&P GSCI Commodity-Indexed (ETF) is flat year-to-date. That condition is unlikely to persist after the results of Tuesday’s presidential election start trickling in.
As has been widely documented, gold and perhaps some other precious metals are believed to me the only potential near-term beneficiaries of Republican challenger Donald Trump claiming the White House. A legitimate case can also be made that given her harsh rhetoric aimed at the coal industry and the Democrats’ lengthy history of hostility toward the oil industry, the oil patch does not want to see Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton win the presidency…………………………………….Full Article: Source

The “Trump ETF” is predicting an unpleasant evening for the Republican presidential nominee. The largest, U.S.-listed, Mexican exchange-traded fund posted its highest gain in five years on Monday, closing 5.1 per cent up after taking in almost $125-million.
The largest daily inflow in three years came as markets reacted positively to Hillary Clinton’s strengthening prospects for victory in the final days of the U.S. contest. The New York-listed iShares MSCI Capped ETF - which gives investors exposure to Mexican stocks and, by extension, the peso - has been on a roller-coaster ride in recent months, tracking the ebbs and flows of Donald Trump’s electoral fortunes……………………………………Full Article: Source

It is an issue for funds that hold the commodities, rather than merely track them. Could exchange-traded funds that hold physical commodities exacerbate price spikes or drops? The potential is there, some experts say, and in fact may have happened already.
Unlike other investments that track the price of materials, physically backed ETFs are structured in a way that could change the underlying supply-and-demand dynamics in what are often thin markets………………………………………Full Article: Source

The renewed strength in the U.S. economy and the resultant rise in interest rates and the greenback are likely to influence all investment decisions in 2017. Especially, commodity investing, particularly precious metals that have enjoyed a bull run this year (on a softer U.S. dollar) may be at risk next year due to the possibility of Fed’s policy tightening.
Investors should note that SPDR Gold Shares is up about 21% this year (as of November 1, 2016) while iShares Silver Trust has returned an astounding 32%………………………………………Full Article: Source

It’s no secret that journalists and investors like to scrutinize — and in some cases mirror – the portfolio moves of Wall Street titans like Warren Buffett and hedge fund gurus like Bill Ackman and Carl Icahn. Now, there’s an exchange traded fund that will do it for you.
Goldman Sachs (GS) has launched a new ETF called the GS Hedge Industry VIP ETF (GVIP) that mimics the most popular stock bets made by hedge funds, providing exposure to 50 U.S. stocks that appear most often among the top holdings in quarterly 13-F filings………………………………………Full Article: Source

There’s an easy argument for investing in precious metals like gold or silver. If you think the value of the commodity is about to go up, you’ll make money. But what’s the best way to play such a move?
Owning a gold miner is probably a better choice than the commodity itself because of operating leverage. If gold rises from $1,300 to $1,500 per ounce and a miner’s cost structure stays the same, that price increase flows straight to the bottom line. Betting on one producer is risky. Owning an ETF is the safer choice…………………………………….Full Article: Source

The global exchange-traded fund market will grow twice its current value to $6 trillion by 2020, according to financial services company Ernst & Young – and investors should expect more active fund managers to launch ETFs. The growth is supported by changing investors’ behaviour and the ongoing low-return environment.
The global ETF market was valued at $3.4 trillion in August 2016, data provided by EY showed. The European ETF market was valued at $533 billion, and is expected to grow to $1.1 trillion by the end of 2020…………………………………….Full Article: Source

Although gold-backed exchange-traded funds withstood the initial barrage of selling at the start of October as gold futures dropped 5%, investor demand was uninspiring by the end of the month.
According to commodity analysts at Commerzbank, global reserves of gold ETFs saw inflows of only 9 tonnes in October, the second lowest level of monthly inflows so far this year. They noted that in the last three months, reserves have only increased by 33 tonnes……………………………………Full Article: Source

A fall in volatility and increased competition have made the trading of exchange-traded funds cheaper in Europe than in the US over the past four quarters according to agency broker ITG.
Data from ITG showed that ETFs in the US were generally cheaper to trade in 2014 but costs have been lower in Europe since the third quarter of last year. The analysis used the ITG Peer Group Database, which contains order-level information from approximately 180 buyside institutions…………………………………….Full Article: Source

U.S. stock indices had a rough time on Friday, with all three major indices falling amid news of a probe of new emails tied to Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton. It is just the latest in what has so far been a dim fourth quarter for the market.
Yet there is a puzzling mismatch in sentiment among longs and shorts, with both increasing their positions. The two most widely shorted ETFs are the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY) and the iShares Russell 2000 (IWM) with $55.9 billion in shorts and $13.5 billion respectively. According to Ihor Dusaniwsky, head of research at S3 Partners, the combined short interest in the two funds has risen in by almost $8 billion in Q4 so far, even as longs boosted their exposure by almost $1 billion…………………………………….Full Article: Source

The U.S. deal market is red-hot right now, and that could mean an uptick in interest for the exchange-traded funds that attempt to capitalize on merger mania. Thus far in October, there have been $248.9 billion in announced corporate tie-ups, according to Dealogic, a figure representing the highest U.S. merger-and-acquisition total value ever in October, excluding spin-offs.
For the year-to-date period, $1.32 trillion has been announced in U.S. M&A, compared with $1.99 trillion during the same stretch in 2015. Companies have been using acquisitions as a way to expand at a time when organic growth remains hard to come by. Other factors, including high levels of cash on hand and low interest rates—which makes for easier deal financing—have also contributed to the activity……………………………………..Full Article: Source

The logic for owning commodities is simple: They offer diversification to holdings of traditional stocks and bonds. Plus, investing in assets like sugar, heating oil, and livestock is made much easier via commodity exchange-traded funds, which are both liquid and inexpensive.
Diversification has its downside, of course: Of the more than 90 exchange-traded commodity funds tracked by Morningstar, all have negative five-year trailing results. Also, while the logic for owning them may seem simple, the execution often is not……………………………………..Full Article: Source

Money managers and other large speculators are bailing as the rally that took futures to its best first half in almost four decades falters. They cut net-long positions the past two weeks by the most in data going back a decade. Investors in ETFs are taking the long view, pouring $605 million over the past week into funds backed by precious metals and helping keep holdings in gold ETFs tracked by Bloomberg at the highest since 2013.
Gold futures have fallen almost 5 per cent since the end of June as speculation that US interest rates will soon rise curbs the appeal of precious metals, which don’t pay interest……………………………………..Full Article: Source

Silver slid out of gold’s shadow in 2016 on the way to impressive gains. Some ETF investors want to know if this is still a good time to invest in precious metals or if the moment has slipped quite away.
Both gold and silver are likely to rally again after coming well off their peaks, with the white metal holding more potential upside in 2017, according to ETF Securities. The $22 billion firm offers a suite of five exchange traded funds investing in gold, silver and diversified precious metals……………………………………Full Article: Source

China has risen to the second-largest economy and the second-largest capital market after the U.S. for some time. How much can U.S.-based investors participate in the economic and capital market growth via China-related ETFs?
We set out to examine many aspects of the Chinese ETFs in the marketplace. How many Chinese ETFs do U.S. investors have access to in the U.S.? What kind of investment exposures do they provide? Who are the major players as issuers? What are the trends for fund flows this year? What is the state of fixed-income Chinese ETFs?…………………………………..Full Article: Source

There’s been another wave of headline-making mergers and acquisitions this year following a hot year for deals in 2015, the latest of which was the blockbuster $85 billion AT&T-Time Warner deal announced this week.
If you are an ETF investor, does a pickup in M&A activity offer you any investment opportunity? In theory, yes. There are two ETFs in the market today that look to capitalize specifically on these types of corporate deals through long/short hedge-fundlike portfolios……………………………………Full Article: Source

Deutsche Bank’s exchange traded fund unit is haemorrhaging cash as Germany’s biggest lender considers whether to sell parts of its asset management business. Investors have pulled $8bn from Deutsche’s ETF arm so far this year. This is an unwelcome collapse after a strong performance in 2015 when the unit attracted positive inflows of $28bn, according to ETFGI, a London-based consultancy.
Clients have headed for the exit after the bank was threatened with a $14bn claim from the US government to settle allegations of mis-selling of mortgage-backed securities that turned toxic during the 2007/08 financial crisis………………………………….Full Article: Source

The U.S. market for exchange-traded index funds, or ETFs, is significantly larger than its European counterpart. But Europe is catching up – and increasingly going its own way. Exchange-traded index funds, or ETFs, are marketable securities that track an index, commodities, bonds or a group of assets. They can be traded like common stock on an exchange and are considered especially transparent.
So it was all the more surprising when the investment company Eaton Vance brought a new ETF to the U.S. market early this year — one that runs counter to the claim of transparency made by traditional index funds………………………………….Full Article: Source

ETFs will probably play a huge role in your ability to retire with money in the bank. An ETF — which stands for “exchange-traded fund” is a lot like a mutual fund — it’s a security that takes a bunch of money from a lot of people and uses it to buy a basket of different stocks or bonds or other types of investments.
The big difference between an ETF and a mutual fund is that you buy a share of an ETF on an exchange, like the New York Stock Exchange, instead of directly from a mutual fund company. So how do you want to use them? A lot of ETFs are index funds — which means they mirror a big benchmark, like the S&P 500………………………………….Full Article: Source

ETF assets are regularly reaching new highs and a record number of new funds are coming to market, so it’s not surprising that industry watchers expect ETFs to keep growing. But they may increasing faster than you think. A new study by EY finds that ETFs’ assets under management are on track to double to almost $6 trillion by 2020.
Over the past decade, ETFs have seen growth of 21.5% per annum, and assets reached $3.4 trillion in August, so it’s easy to see how rapid growth could get the market to that high water mark. Yet EY warns that while their popularity should continue, it’s getting more and more difficult for ETFs to deliver continued expansion…………………………………..Full Article: Source

ETFs are the smartphone apps of the investing world. It’s hard to imagine how we used to get by without them. They are remarkably cheap to create and own. A small handful of the most popular ones dominate usage. There are new ones arriving weekly targeting every narrow interest. And there are far, far too many of them.
In a bit more than 20 years, exchange-traded funds have gone from an innovation no one was asking for (”Why would anyone want to trade a mutual fund in the middle of the day?”) to the dominant new-product category in retail investment management…………………………………..Full Article: Source

Two of the world’s largest iron ore producers - Vale SA VALE and Rio Tinto plc RIO - slashed their iron ore outlook. The Anglo Australian miner Rio Tinto tweaked its expectation for shipments to 325-330 million tons for 2016 from 330 million tons while maintaining the iron ore shipment forecast of 330-340 million tons for 2017.
On the other hand, Brazilian miner Vale expects to produce 360-380 million tons of iron ore next year, down from the previous forecast of 380-400 million tons.Production of iron ore rose 2% at Rio Tinto while shipments fell 5% in the third quarter due to port and rail maintenance. For Vale, production increased 1.5% due to improved performance at mines in the northern Amazonian state of Para………………………………….Full Article: Source

Inflows into global commodity exchange-traded products continued in September, with precious metals the key “driving force,” says Barclays. Analysts report that overall commodity ETPs posted a modest inflow of $1.7 billion last month. Although lower than the year-to-date monthly average of $3.9 billion, this nevertheless means that commodities ETPs collectively have seen inflows every single month so far in 2016, analysts say.
“Precious metals remained the driving force behind ETPs inflows, bringing in $1.64 billion, while ETPs linked to other sectors saw only $0.1 billion of inflows,” the bank says. “As (of) the end of August, precious metals ETPs had combined inflows of $28.2 billion year-to-date, higher than any full-year inflows on record. Precious metals ETP AUM (assets under management) increased to $114.3 billion at the end of September, which is the highest level since May 2013.”…………………………………Full Article: Source

Assets invested in ETFs/ETPs listed in Asia Pacific ex-Japan reached a new record of US$132 billion at the end of 3Q2016, according to independent research and consultancy firm ETFGI. Net flows gathered by ETFs/ETPs in September were $6.46 billion, according to preliminary data from the firm’s September 2016 global ETF and ETP industry insights report.
Record levels of assets were also reached at the end of Q3 for ETFs/ETPs listed globally at $3.41 trillion, in the United States with $2.42 trillion and in Europe at $566.74 billion. At the end of 3Q2016, the Asia Pacific ex-Japan ETF/ETP industry had 929 ETFs/ETPs, with 1,077 listings, assets of $132 billion, from 114 providers listed on 18 exchanges in 14 countries………………………………….Full Article: Source

One of the dominant financial trends of the past decade has been a move by investors out of actively managed funds and into passively managed index funds or exchange traded funds (ETFs).
The latest example is the Illinois State Pension Board, which according to The Wall Street Journal, decided to jettison active mutual fund managers altogether, leaving only passively managed choices for its state workers. The reasons cited for the move into ETFs included lower fees and potentially better performance as many active managers fail to outperform their passive peers…………………………………….Full Article: Source

Frank Spiteri, head of distribution at ETF Securities writes exclusively for What Investment on the role Exchange Traded Products (ETPs) can play in a private investors portfolio.
After a tough four years, commodities have made a comeback in 2016. To the end of August, commodities, measured by the Bloomberg Commodity Index have returned close to 7% and the pessimism that had beleaguered the asset class has now lifted allowing each individual commodity to trade on its own fundamentals. Net speculative positioning in the futures market (a measure of investor sentiment towards the asset class) has returned to levels we have not seen since 2014 indeed…………………………………..Full Article: Source